Photo furnished by Marrowbone Public Library
From left to right: Joann Grove, Michelle Fitzgerald and Donna Sue Martin at Marrowbone Library.

•March 30, 2022•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

A memorial bench now sits in front of the Marrowbone Public Library in memory of a former head librarian. The bench is in memory of Jim and Joann Grove and was donated by the Grove family.
Joanne was the head librarian at the library from 1970-1988. She finished out her library career with the Rolling Prairie Library System.
Joanne was also notable because she was elected the first woman mayor of Bethany in 1997. She got to work, writing a grant that replaced the aging sewer system, formed a planning committee and convinced the village board to establish a TIF district. She had to give up her position as mayor in 2000 due to a stroke.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story. 
According to former Marrowbone Public Library director Jane Hill, the Women’s Club in Bethany started the library in the ‘30s and it was located in a store front where the bank parking and drive thru are today. The library moved to their current location in 1977. Marrowbone Public Library co-director Lisa Spracklen said that Joanne was instrumental in the library becoming a district library, when the library was started, it was a township library.

Photo by Crystal Reed
Marrowbone Public Library co-directors Lisa Spracklen and Sally Ascenzo with the memorial bench that was donated in memory of Jim and Joanne Grove by the Grove family.

She was a large part of the planning committee for Bethany’s Centennial Celebration in 1977, which ran for an entire week. Joann was awarded the Illinois Woman of Achievement award which recognizes women for their professional and volunteer work. On November 12, 2001, she was recognized by Julie Curry, state representative, and had the House Bill 440 written recognizing all of her achievements.
Former librarian Jane Hill said that Joann was instrumental in getting the library on a shared database system throughout Illinois. She also helped the library become one of the first libraries to become automated and moved it into the computer age. In 2014, a community room was added to the Marrowbone Public Library, named after Joanne and her former library co-worker Jane Hill, recognizing them for all of their hard work.
The bench was installed by Steve Brown and Andrew Spracklen.